Le Brésil en 1889 is a publication organized by Francisco J. de Santa-Anna Nery, and sponsored by the Brazilian imperial government, for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889. Its main purpose was to highlight the recent achievements of the Brazilian Monarchy, especially the abolition of slavery, for a foreign audience. Among its contributors were some of the most important intellectuals and politicians from that time, such as Rio Branco, André Rebouças and Eduardo Prado. This article goal is to analyze their essays, particularly how they have portrayed the issues of socialeconomic modernization and the formation of Brazilian people. We are interested in the kind of image that Brazil was - officially - trying to project in 1889, after the abolition and just before the proclamation of the Republic.